Method of securing heels to shoes



July IE; F.-SMALL 54 0 METHOD OF SECURING HEELS TO SHOES Filed. Oct. 5, 1945 H Irwenier l ,.EDWARD ESMALL 23 k-Z'wrney Patented July 15, 1947 METHOD OF SECURING HEELS TO SHOES Edward F. Small, Newton, Mass., assignor to Compo Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application October 5, 1945, Serial No..620,453

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of footwear and more particularly to an improved means for permanently nailing heels to shoes while the shoes are on their original lasts.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to attach a heel to a shoe by inserting a screw, nail or other fastener element through the last pin hole and driving such fastener into the central portion of the heel seat of the shoe and into the heel.

It has also been common practice to apply an adhesive to the heel seat of the shoe and to the heel and then clamp the parts together until the adhesive sets or hardens.

Neither of these methods produces final attachment of the heel to the shoe and after removing the lasts from the shoes securement of the heel must be augmented by a series of nails driven into the heel from the inside of the shoe.

When using these previous methods of attaching heels to shoes, considerable care has to be taken in handling of the shoes during the finishing operations and during removal of the lasts since the fasteners which must have very small heads in order to pass through the last pin hole, are liable to be pulled through the insole. At best such centrally located fastenings do not prevent the heel from twisting upon the shoe heel seat. In cases where an adhesive is relied upon for temporary attachment of the heel, much care has to be exercised in the handling of the shoe in order to avoid rupturing the adhesive bond before the final nailing operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple method of making shoes whereby the final nailing of the heel to the shoe is accomplished While the shoe is mounted upon its original last. I

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method of making shoes whereby only one operation is required to effect permanent and final nailing of the heel to the shoe while the shoe is mounted upon its original last.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rapid and eificient method of making shoes whereby final nailing of a heel to a shoe is accomplished in a time saving manner resulting in lower shoe manufacturing costs.

A still further object of the invention is to provide effective mean for permanently attaching a heel to a shoe with a plurality of nails while such shoe is mounted upon its original last thus allowing the heel of the shoe to be handled for finishing operations and delasting without danger of the heel being accidentally displaced from its attached position.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had description taken in conto the following detailed nection with the accompanying drawing,

which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing, partially in section, a shoe mounted upon an improved last, and also showing a heel clamped thereto in position to receive the fastening unit;

Fig. 2 is a partial view, in section, of the shoe and last shown in Fig. 1 after the fastening unit has been driven into the shoe and heel;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an improved fastening unit used in connection with my improved method; and, v

Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the fastening unit taken substantially along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 a usual form of wooden last H] the heel portion ll of which is altered to provide a fastening receiving recess l2 formed in line with the usual last pin hole [3 surrounded by the metal sleeve M. A fastening driving disc l5, which may be of hardened steel, is located within the recess l2 and the metal heel plate i6 ofthe last overhangs the edges of the recess to prevent the disc from accidental loss.

Prior to making a shoe upon this improved last, a fastening unit ll, comprising a series of nails 18 pressed into a fiberboard disc l9 and with the underside of their heads in contact with such disc, is placed within the recess 12 so that the heads of the nails rest upon the driver disc IS.

The hole 20 in the fastening unit disc 19 serving to center the fastening unit about an elevation 2| formed on the driver disc l5.

After location of the fastener unit as previously described, the shoe insole 22 is secured to the last and the remaining shoe parts such as the upper, shank piece, fillers and outsole are assembled in the usual manner.

Upon completion of the heel seat fitting operation the last I0 together with the shoe assembled thereon is placed upon a last pin 23 and the heel 24 is positioned and clamped to the heel seat of the shoe as shown in Fig. 1.

The last pin 23 is then reciprocated towards the heel until it contacts and moves the driver disc l5 thus driving the fastening unit nails into the heel seat materials of the shoe and into the heel.

When the fastening unit has been driven in place the fiberboard disc H] which served to hold the nails in an upright position lies snugly against the face of the insole as shown in Fig. 2 and serves to reinforce the heel seat portion of the insole of the shoe and to prevent the nail heads from pulling through the soft insol material.

Since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween,

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. That method of making shoes which comprises providing a last having a fastening receiving recess in its heel seat portion connecting With a bore extending through its cone portion, inserting in said recess a fastener unit comprising a plurality of nails held in spaced relation by an insole reinforcing member, assembling the shoe parts upon said last and positioning a heel upon the heel seat portion thereof, and inserting a driving element within said last bore to drive the nails of said fastener unit thrO lgh the heel seat portion of said shoe parts and into said heel, and to press said insole reinforcing member into contact with the insole of the shoe.

2. That method of making shoes which comprises providing a last having a fastening receiving recess in its heel seat portion connecting with a bore extending through its cone portion and having a reciprocable fastener driving element contained in said recess, inserting in said recess and upon said driving element a fastener unit comprising a plurality of nails held in spaced relation by an insole reinforcing member, assembling the shoe parts upon said last and positioning a heel upon the heel seat portion thereof, and

insertin a second driving element within said last bore to contact and to reciprocate said first mentioned driving element todrive the nails of said fastener unit through the heel seat portion of said shoe parts and into said heel, and to press said reinforcing member into contact with the insole of the shoe.

3. That method of making shoes which comprises providing a last having a cylindrical fastening receiving recess in its heel seat portion connecting with a bore extending through its cone portion and having a reciprocable fastener driving element contained in said recess, insertin in said recess and centering upon said driving element a fastener unit comprising a plurality of nails held in spaced relation by a disc of insole reinforcing material which surrounds the shanks thereof, assembling the shoe parts upon said last and positioning a heel upon the heel seat portion thereof, and inserting a second driving'element within said last bore to contact and to reriprocate said first mentioned driving element to drive the nails of said fastener unit through the heel seat portion of said shoe parts and into said heel and to press the disc of insole reinforcing material surrounding the shanks of said nails firmly against the insole of the shoe.

' EDWARD F. SMALL.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date White Jan. 24, 1922 Number 

